


Familiae Semper

by Bowser_Sourpuss_Bread



Series: Tales From The Garreg Mach School of Peace: My Three Houses Modern AU [8]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ashe recognizes that, Disabled Character, Family Drama, Found Family, Gen, Rodrigue is trying his best, Trans Ashe, Trans Character, Trans Male Character, family weekend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:01:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22758967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bowser_Sourpuss_Bread/pseuds/Bowser_Sourpuss_Bread
Summary: Ashe has been counting down the days until Family Weekend. But he learns that not everyone has been looking forward to it....
Series: Tales From The Garreg Mach School of Peace: My Three Houses Modern AU [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1629751
Comments: 3
Kudos: 25





	Familiae Semper

He has been counting down the days. Now that it is finally the month of Family Weekend, though, he can _see_ how close it is. Ashe doesn’t even try to hide his squeal of excitement. Ingrid, seeing that he has put the new month up, goes to inspect the picture. Ashe has an anti-gun violence calendar at home, but he didn’t want to start off on such a heavy note at his first year at school, although he knows his advocacy in that realm played a big par in his getting into the Garreg Mach School of Peace… He knows someone like him doesn’t just _get_ _into_ a school like this one! This calendar is the one his dad gets from donating to the Humane Society of Fodlan. He’s since started donating himself. He gives _his_ calendar to Augie. He likes the pictures of the animals. When Ashe told him that he helps the animals by giving money every month, Augie looked so _proud_ of him.

He can’t wait to see his little brother again.

“Ugh, don’t remind me.”

Ashe looks back at his roommate. He knows that Ingrid has a calendar too, a horse-themed one, and puts her major assignments in as soon as she gets her syllabi. So there shouldn’t be an assignment that’s sneaking up on her. Still… “Class?” he asks.

“I wish,” she sighs. “No. Family Weekend.”

“Family Weekend!?” he yelps. “What’s wrong with Family Weekend!?”

“Nothing! Nothing!” she exclaims. Ashe shrinks into himself. “It’s not Family Weekend that’s the problem. It’s my family. They just see me as a pretty face: their ticket to raising the family name.”

Ashe struggles to make sense of what he is being told. His birth name had no name to speak of. No  _ good _ names, anyway. And Lonato never felt the need to put on airs. “I’m sorry, Ingrid. I’ll try not to remind you.”

His roommate puts her hands on his shoulders. “No. Be excited for Family Weekend. And when it’s Family Weekend, have a great time. For the both of us.”

* * *

That idea sticks with Ashe, and like he does with all ideas that cling to him like peanut butter on the roof of his mouth, Ashe calls Lonato about it. Well, he incorporates it into his daily call. “Not everyone has a good family life. You know that.” Ashe realizes that he  _ didn’t _ . His birth family was poor. His parents were trapped in the cycle of poverty, in all of its trappings: unstable employment, denigration of the sense of self, an inundation of desperation, drug abuse as an escape. But through it all, it’s never like they never not  _ loved _ him. They loved their children so much that they kept living. When Augie came out the way he did…  _ That _ was the breaking point. They loved him; they knew what they had done.

He doesn’t feel like he can  _ say _ any of that, though. Especially since he knows Augie is in this call. “I know,” the teen echoes. “I just… I didn’t expect it to be so  _ close _ . Do you know what I’m saying?”

Lonato nods. “Speaking of close…” He looks somewhere off-screen. “Augie, you need to get closer. Ashe can’t see you!” His father guides his little brother into the frame.

Ashe can’t wait to see him in-person. “Hi, Augie.” Augie waves at him shyly, like he’s afraid to seem  _ too _ friendly with this person on the screen, lest the Ashe in-person gets jealous. “Are you excited to see my school?” He hums happily. “I’m excited for you to see it too!”

Ashe can see what his camera is showing on the corner of his screen. He sees Ingrid walk behind him. When he next looks, his screen is right up in Augie’s face. Laughter bubbles out of him. He hollers to his roommate. She turns around and jumps. Which, yeah. When a person is  _ that _ zoomed in, they look like an alien. When Ingrid realizes who it is, though, she waves tentatively. “Augie!” Lonato chuckles. “Now you’ve ruined the surprise of your beautiful face!”

“Ah, that’s OK, Mr. Gaspard,” Ingrid stammers. “His face is so close to the screen that it barely looks like a face.”

Ashe leans against his pillows. Lonato takes back the phone. Augie remains in the frame, sitting on his lap. They finish the call by reminiscing about the  _ first _ time Augie did that on a call. Ashe is so excited to see them.

He casts a gaze at Ingrid, who is working at her desk. He wishes she had someone she was looking forward to seeing…

* * *

The idea remains. It gets uncomfortable. He decides to ask the other Blue Lions about Family Weekend. Surely Ingrid is just a special case. Well. And Dimitri and Dedue. Ashe knows about The Tragedy of Duscur. And its fallout.

But Ingrid is  _ not _ a special case.

Sylvain harrumphs at the mention of family: a very Felix-like sound. “I didn’t tell ‘em ‘bout Family Weekend,” he explains. “I don’t want ‘em around. My parents are in a loveless marriage and are always at each other’s throats over who corrupted my older brother. On the best days, they blame Miklan on  _ me _ . As if  _ I’m _ the one who attempted murder! I’m glad he’s rotting away in jail now. Proves that there’s  _ some _ justice left in the world.”

A chill goes down Ashe’s spine. He couldn’t imagine being so  _ hateful _ that he’d want to hurt his siblings! It would be like cutting out a piece of his own heart!

As for Felix, he gives a Sylvain-y eyeroll. “My mother and father never loved each other. They got friendship confused for love. Well, that’s not quite right. They were told that they  _ had _ to be in love. My mother’s in a happy relationship with academia, and my father’s still chasing after the concept of chivalry. Because Glenn  _ died like a true soldier _ . Disgusting.”

The  _ venom _ in Felix’s voice makes Ashe shudder. He and Lonato don’t always agree, but when they have arguments, they always make up afterwards. As for his birth parents… He could never be angry at them. Maybe he should be, but.

Ashe found Mercedes and Annette baking. After helping his best friends finish their plate of cookies that they were donating to some sort of gathering Claude was hosting, he asked them.

Mercedes too deflates. “My father was a wealthy man, but Mother always says he had a heart of gold.”  _ Had _ being the key word. “I wouldn’t know. He died when I was a baby. My mother put a lot of herself in that relationship. She felt she was incomplete without a partner. So she married a man with a similar background to my father. But within the corporate world, he was a… diamond in the rough. My stepfather was incredibly sexist, and after he bore her a son, he started abusing her. He wanted us gone, and the truth was it was her word against his. We sought refuge in a Church of Seiros. I was 10 years old.”

Mercedes never mentions homelessness in her story, but Ashe can sense her unmooredness of place. He wonders what happened to that child, with a father that used people like tools like that.

Annette’s answer is the most positive he has gotten so far, and that is saying something. “I love my mom and my uncle! But my father… I don’t know what to think of him. Mom talks about him like he’s some knight out of a fairy tale, but knights don’t leave their princess. My uncle is my father’s younger brother, and after my father left us, he took us in. We’re a happy family. And that  _ should _ be all of it. But… He keeps sending me letters. Apologizing. Asking how I’m doing. He sends me dolls. Like I’m still the little girl he knew. At first, I answered them, but after I realized he’s convinced himself that coming back is an impossibility...” The girl hiccups. Mercedes draws her into a comforting hug.

As she comforts Annette, Mercedes addresses him. “We’re OK, but please,  _ don’t _ ask Dimitri and Dedue. The Tragedy of Duscur… They’re the only family they have now.”

Ashe apologizes to his fellow Lions, but they assure him that they’ve “gotten used to it.” That doesn’t settle the all-consuming pit in his stomach. In fact, it makes it worse.

It gets so bad that, that night, he calls Lonato in the middle of the night. Not in his room, of course. Outside. It’s dark, and Ashe is scared of the dark, but he’s more scared by the prospect of just letting this information  _ fester _ inside him.

“Son, are you outside?”

“I’m right outside the dorms!”

“Go inside.”

“It’s not that-”

“Go. Inside.” And Ashe’s heart pounds because he knows  _ exactly _ what he’s thinking. Ashe is not Christophe, but somewhere, he’s honored that Lonato would see him like that.

Ashe ducks into the Blue Lions common room, sitting in the corner furthest from the lines of dorms. “I think that’s unnecessary, but all right. What’s up?”

Ashe tells him  _ everything _ . “First of all, tomorrow, make apology desserts for  _ everyone _ . Asking everyone was highly inappropriate. Ingrid was one thing; she volunteered the information. But  _ asking _ ?” He makes a Disappointed Dad Sigh. Ashe’s heart leaps into his throat. “Next, include them in our Family Weekend plans.”

The teen’s eyes widen. “Oh! I was actually-”

“Whoever wants a family to be with. No questions asked.” The weight of those words is not lost on the boy. He nods vigorously.

It is late, and with that weight off of him, Ashe is ready to crash into his bed, but he watches as his father looks behind him and says, “Say goodnight to your brother.”

Ambre, the sneak, creeps into the frame. The facade of guilt falls away, though, as she asks, “Does this mean I’m gonna meet your disaster friends?”

Ashe sputters. Luckily, Lonato comes to his friends’ defense. He threatens to not take her to the event if she “can’t be nice.” He makes Ambre promise to “be on her best behavior.” Ashe loves his little sister, the angel on his shoulder telling him to stand up for himself.

* * *

On the morning of the first day of Family Weekend, Ashe sneaks out with the sunrise. When he sees the car, he runs to it, despite the slipperiness of the ice that had frozen from the previous night’s cold snap. He had thought he knew where the water had pooled, but his foot catches on something…

And he lands in his father’s arms. “Whoa, there.”

“Dad!” The hug is all awkward, crunchy winter coats, but when he looks around at the smiles on his family’s face, Ashe can’t help but feel warm.

Ambre, ever the voice of reason, peels away from the cuddle puddle to scan her surroundings. “Your school is lame.”

Her older brother chuckles. “Well, you parked on the wrong side on campus.”

Lonato yelps in embarrassment. He starts trying to herd his adolescents back into the car, but his eldest tells him to stop. The official parking area will be packed soon, and as long as they’re willing to take a bit of a walk, he knows a really good breakfast place in town. “My treat,” Ashe tells the guardians of his heart. As the teen walks with his family, hand-in-hand, he knows that the treat is really how the lot of them, all awkward, crunchy winter coats with tender bits, fit together to make something to weather the storm.

* * *

After taking his family out to breakfast, Ashe takes them on a grand tour of the campus, careful to avoid all of the places in Mercedes’ ghost stories. They’re just old ruins, he tells them when Augie points to an abandoned chapel quizzically. The school is old; it has a lot of old things. It’s not interesting, he swears. No, Ambre! You saw how I almost fell on my face from the ice!

He takes them to the really interesting part: the dorms area. “Headmistress Rhea calls this The Triangle of Unity.”

“This  _ Garden of Unity _ looks pretty droopy.”

Ashe feels a sudden need to defend his friend’s work. “We just had a cold snap! Dedue is trying his best!” Augie tugs on his sleeve. “It’s OK, Augie, Ambre is going to be on her best behavior. She promised Dad, remember?”

Augie detaches. Suddenly, there’s the sound of air being forced from someone’s mouth. “Who’s this?”

Ashe swerves around. Dedue is studying his little brother, the boy he carried as a baby in the streets. Augie is nine; he’s growing up fast. But Dedue is  _ massive _ . Ashe feels a surge of  _ something _ -

And then something else. Augie raises his arms. Dedue smiles. Dedue picks him up. Augie trills excitedly. Then, with Augie on one hip, Dedue addresses his family. “Hello. Are you Ashe’s family? He has spoken very highly of you.” He looks at Ambre. “All of you. My name is Dedue Molinaro. I am one of Ashe’s classmates.”

_ This is truly the strangest timeline _ , the teen muses.

As Dedue and Lonato shake hands, the ever-fearless Ambre, emboldened even more than usual by her recent officiation into teenager status, gives her review of his garden. Instead of getting angry, though, he outlines his plans for the next season. It’s November. Some would say winter is already here. Then, the mountain of a man addresses Ashe. “The rest of our class was planning on doing some activities in the common room before heading to the event area once lunch is available. Your family is welcome to join us.”

Before Ashe can ask, Ambre takes the words right out of his mouth. “What  _ kind _ of activities?”

Dedue shrugs. Lonato laughs. “People are nothing if not  _ careful _ in their decision-making.”

Dedue nods. “Perhaps some voices of order are just what we need,” he quips, smiling. Dedue turns to Augie, still on his hip. “Do you want to make your grand entrance from up here?” Augie just hums happily.

As Dedue puts Augie on his other hip, Ambre pouts. “Hey! I wanna try!”

“You’re too big, Ambre. Don’t you remember? You’re  _ not some kid anymore _ .” Lonato’s impression of his sister is surprisingly spot-on, Ashe thinks.

Dedue smiles. “If you see a young man named Raphael, ask him to lift you. He is even stronger than I.” In Ambre’s eyes, Ashe can already see the superheroes of the comics she adores. Ashe knows that Dimitri is even stronger than Raphael, but… Yeah… That wouldn’t be good.

* * *

The Gaspard family spends several hours cycling between board games and socializing with the Blue Lions in the common room. As Annette’s mother and uncle join, Ashe feels like they’re all in a living room, having a reunion across time and space. Mercedes in particular looks so much younger as she plays with Augie.

Like any family, though, they get cranky as they get hungry. Thus, the Blue Lions pride moves on the event area.

Ashe studies the area. At The Golden Deer table, Claude has already attached himself to Hilda’s family. Someone who looks to be Hilda’s older brother looks  _ incensed _ . Ignatz’s parents look so much like him it’s jarring, and the way Raphael -with a little girl on his hip- interacts with them belies years of comfort. He has brought Lysithea into the fold. Leonie has a whole entourage, and they’re already engaged in the time-honored art of stuffing their bags full of free food. Marianne is standing next to a man, but she looks uncomfortable. Before Ashe can do anything, though, Lorenz slides in and starts exuding his noble confidence. Hook, line, and sinker. Claude peels away from Hilda to escort Marianne across the room. So, all in all, pretty good.

Ashe follows Claude with his gaze as he guides her to Bernadetta. Ashe looks over The Black Eagles. They’re sitting around the table like, well, deer in the headlights. Ashe realizes with a start that there are no family members among them.

As Seteth appears at the podium, Ashe watches his brain go through the same process. He makes an expected speech about the value of family and the school’s gratitude for the opportunity to guide the students, but he ends with something unexpected: “For those of you who wish to be involved in the family-oriented activities but do not have any guests today, feel free to join with a group here or with one of the faculty members.” He gestures to the procession: Professor Essar, Professor Casagranda, Professor Eisner and their father, and Coach Rangeld, then himself. “After all, family is made of those you choose, and we have all chosen to embark on this journey together.”

After his speech, Ashe watches the groups splinter and coalesce in new shapes. Claude stays with Hilda’s family, as does Raphael with Ignatz’s, but Lysithea goes to The Black Eagles to talk to Marianne. The duo go to Professor Essar together. As for The Black Eagles, they, too, end up joining groups. Dorothea and Ferdinand make a beeline for Professor Casagranda. Bernadetta goes to Coach Rangeld. When they realize that Petra is looking confused, they invite her to join them. Linhardt, to the surprise of no one, when he is woken up by Caspar, goes to Professor Essar. Equally unsurprisingly, Caspar goes with him. Edelgard and Hubert are the last to join a group, but when Edelgard marches towards the Eisners with purpose, Hubert follows.

As Ashe looks among The Blue Lions to see if their group is changing at all, he realizes that Felix is absent. Ingrid says he went to the bathroom. Ashe, having needed to go for a while but not wanting to be rude to the headmistress’ right-hand man, asks where it is, and the blonde gives him directions. Promising he’ll be back soon, and reminding Ambre of  _ her _ promise, he goes to a men’s bathroom. He hears Felix yelling at someone to “go home,” but by the time he arrives, Felix is already gone.

There is only an older man that looks like Felix in tears. He must be Felix’s father. Ashe decides that he can hold it in a little longer. “Are you OK, sir?” he asks.

The man nods numbly. “Don’t worry about me.”

Felix would say it harsher, but he  _ sounds _ like Felix too. So Ashe knows what to do: cut to the chase. “What did Felix say to you?”

He shakes his head. “Nothing I didn’t deserve.”  _ Well, now you sound more like Dimitri! _

Ashe also knows about Dimitri. “I don’t believe that. What did he say?”

“Just that I failed him as a father.” The man shakes his head. “I don’t care if it’s with me or not. I just want my son to have people to hold him up, whether he climbs higher or needs somewhere to fall.”

Ashe follows his heart, in (at least) four pieces: Lonato, Christophe, Ambre, and Augie. “Well, he’ll always have family here.”


End file.
